Venting is normal. We all do it. When we’re frustrated and feel like we’re in a pressure cooker, it’s generally a good thing to let off steam in a safe place, rather than exploding in a way we’ll regret later.

When carried out effectively, venting can be a healthy way to deal with strong emotions. It can help people bond. It can make employees feel more comfortable in the office and improve a team’s dynamics.

Gossiping, on the other hand, is a lot less helpful. It causes conflicts. It harms reputations. It can lead to accusations of bullying and even resignations.

So, how can we tell the difference between venting and workplace gossip? 

In general, venting becomes gossiping when one of the following three things happens:

If you’re a team leader, you may be wondering what the best way to improve your team's dynamics is. Here's a list of 11 strategies you can use to build good group dynamics and a highly effective team.

The 5AM Club by Robin Sharma is a book about establishing an early morning routine to boost mental focus and reach peak performance. Its motto is, “Own Your Morning. Elevate Your Life.”

Back then, it was “cool” to work long hours, brag about how little sleep you got, and tell your coworkers how much caffeine you could down to make it through the day.

I believe, in order to be more effective at work, we have to make a conscious effort to cut down on how often we burn the midnight oil - and how frequently, as leaders, we set this expectation for our teams.

Whether you are just taking your first step or have been pursuing your goals for years, you won’t get far without hard work. There are no shortcuts to success.

175 motivational quotes from people like Elon Musk, Maya Angelou, Serena Williams, Theodore Roosevelt, Walt Disney, and Steve Jobs that are sure to keep you focused on achieving your goals:

“Most meetings are too long, too dull, too unproductive.” - Lois Wyse

She isn’t wrong. A lot of meetings are ineffective and boring. They only exist to make the person who organized it feel like they’re doing something.

It doesn’t have to be this way, though. When managed well, meetings can be incredibly powerful tools. They can impart wisdom, improve staff morale, and help leaders make decisions.

Many managers go out of their way to avoid giving negative feedback to members of their team. They do so because they believe these conversations will make people upset or uncomfortable. 

If you are one of those managers, I have a little bit of constructive criticism for you. You need to start having those conversations, even if they feel slightly awkward at first.

Find Your Vocation in Order to Make Career Choices

At some point in their life, almost everyone pauses to ask themselves questions like:

What do I want to do with my career?

Do I want to work in my job forever?

Is it time for a career change?

As a coach, I often have clients ask me for help managing their team. Some people need tactics they can use to motivate their employees, others want tips for keeping their workers focused.

Every manager has different strengths, weaknesses, and needs.

A while back, I worked with a client who had a tendency to swoop in and handle projects herself when her team struggled or something went wrong. She found her leadership style draining and was aware it was having a negative impact on her workers.

As such, she wanted to shift to more of a coach approach to leading her team. She believed this style of management would give her employees more room to develop their skills.

We discussed her options for a while and eventually decided she should approach management with an apprentice model in mind.

To fully understand what that approach entails, we need to take a quick trip back in time.